A Legacy Ended
by mischievousanomaly
Summary: Kitt is reactivated after being in storage for many years after The Foundation was shut down, however the world he is greeted with is nothing like what it was before.
1. Chapter 1

In the lonely darkness of the Earth, a red light flickered into life, its blazing red scorching the darkness around it into nothing. The crimson light it provided, revealed one of the lasting pieces of evidence that the planet had ever been inhabited… a 1980s black Trans-Am. Shadows of terror were cast on the dust and rubble that littered the ground, presumably from a warehouse or storage facility, long since destroyed.

Dust from the building, and from many years of storage, painted a thick layer over what had once been a proud black paint, a clear sign of having been forgotten over time. If there was anyone left to look into the window of this car, they would have seen a dashboard covered in a myriad of buttons, a random collection of which were lit like constellations in the sky. But nobody would ever realise that the car was the legendary Knight Industries Two Thousand, or Kitt as he was known. The final symbol of The Foundation.

Kitt scanned his surroundings, which caused him a great deal of confusion. He had no knowledge of where he was, or what had happened to cause the mountains of rubble as far as his scanners could see. The last memory he had saved was of him being shut down, for The Foundation had been shut down, and they no longer had the resources to maintain him. That was essentially the day he had 'died', as he had no knowledge of anything that had happened after.

The 'Autocruise' light flashed on, and Kitt rolled forwards, manoeuvring around the giant stacks of rubble, and scanning for any sign of life. He may have been deactivated, but his primary function was still the preservation of human life, and if it was, as he thought at the time, an explosion, then there may be injured people in need of help. Much to his surprise, he was unable to detect anyone.

Confused, Kitt travelled down empty streets, hoping to find any sign of life further away, but still he found nothing. On every street he turned onto, more destruction was revealed, and the more Kitt realised that the crisis was not just limited to where he had once been stored. It had an effect on at least half of the city, and as the sun set the sky alight in its debut for the day, Kitt had determined that, in the city, there was nobody left. Not even one person was still among the wreckage. In many of the mountains of rubble, he could detect human remains, which lead him to believe that whatever event that had occurred had happened some time ago. There was no sign of life anywhere, and if Kitt didn't know better, he would have categorised this as a ghost town.

Kitt drove through city after city, only to find each one in a similar state to the one before it. Day after day, the same picture of destruction, gradually bringing any hope that Kitt had to rest. Eventually, Kitt had reached the other coast, and now had to accept that he was the sole survivor of what could only be described as the apocalypse, although what exactly that entailed was unknown to him, but then, the exact cause was of no consequence to. Humanity was dead, and he was alone, his primary function made redundant. What use would the Knight Industries Two Thousand have in a world of ruins?

In a last effort, Kitt scanned through international frequencies, only to receive static with each and every one. As his final hope drained away, the scanner light slowly flickered and faded into nothingness, and with it, the final legacy of The Foundation turned to dust.

 **AN: I thought I would try writing something different. What did you think? Let me know by writing a review. :-)**


	2. Chapter 2

Approximately twenty miles from Kitt's location, silently watching from darkness of the shadows, was a Trans-Am identical to Kitt in every way. The only tell-tale difference was the scanner light, a bright yellow, rather than the expected crimson. If that light was off, then there would be no defining feature.

The yellow light paced back and forth. The AI had a decision to make. To make themselves known to Kitt, or to remain hidden, alone on this barren rock for the rest of the time that they remained functional. For any other sentient being, this decision would be easy, but for Karr, it was an almost impossible decision. He didn't want to be alone, but Kitt may have presented a threat to his continued existence, and that was something that his self-preservation programming could not allow him to risk. The main question that Karr required the answer to was if Kitt would be a risk to him now that his primary function had been made redundant.

The yellow light faded as Karr became more focused on reaching a decision. He needed to reach a decision sooner rather than later. There was no telling what could happen next. No data that Karr had mentioned what to do in the event of the apocalypse, or what would happen afterwards. He was completely uncertain about the world around him.

As night turned into day, the sunlight crept through the gaps in the ceiling. The light reflected off a sign just to the left of Karr. The letters read 'Knight Industries Two Thousand.' Karr had been, at some point, mistaken for Kitt and had been placed in a museum. For this, Karr was grateful, as if things had been different, then he would be here in this post-apocalyptic world.

* * *

Karr, after eventually coming to a decision, cruised around the worst piles of rubble at breakneck speeds, swerving left and right. A cloud of dust formed behind him, filling the air with microscopic pieces of brick, among other things. The visibility of the path he had followed had become near zero, not that it mattered to Karr. He was only concerned with what was ahead but wouldn't go back on his decision now.

As soon as Karr had escaped the confines of the town, he sped up even more. He drove along like a rocket, probably setting the new land speed record, if such a record could be set after the apocalypse. The engine's roar echoed across the empty expanse as Karr drove, until he reached the next town.

He rapidly decelerated until he was following the pre-apocalypse speed laws. He didn't want Kitt to be aware of his presence before he had made his motives clear. An all-out declaration of war was the last thing that Karr needed. Revenge was far from Karr's thought processes at this point. He wanted to form an alliance. He wanted to survive.

Slowly, Karr rounded the corner and applied the brakes. He had found Kitt. Carefully, he parked so he was facing Kitt's scanner. The engine was switched off, which was followed by a moment of silence. "Hello Kitt," Karr said simply. The familiar red light flickered into life once more, casting a glow on the darkness of the other Trans-Am in front of it.

 **AN: I found the inspiration to continue this. :-) What do you think? What could I improve? Let me know by writing a review. :-)**


	3. Chapter 3

Meanwhile, in a laboratory on the Foundation premises, two scientists and Devon miles watched the events on the screen in front of them.  
"Karr has approached Kitt," the first one said. "The simulation is, so far, playing out as expected." Devon listened to the detailed report on the test results they had obtained so far, with the distinct wish that this wasn't necessary. The report continued for a few minutes, detailing the exact reaction that Kitt had to the apocalypse.

Just as the report came to an end, the second scientist asked, "Are Bonnie and Michael still in the dark about this?"  
"Of course," came the quick reply.  
"Good," the first scientist responded. "I would hate for our little test to come to a premature end…"  
"It won't, Devon replied nervously, before making a hasty exit.

* * *

"Karr?" Kitt asked. As far as he knew, the older AI had been destroyed during their last encounter, so it was completely unexpected for him to show up now.  
"Yes," Karr replied.  
"Do you know what happened? Why is everything like this?" Kitt fired questions at him, and, in a way, they almost sounded accusatory.  
"I know nothing more of what's going on than you do," Karr told him.  
"Did you… find any survivors?" Kitt asked next. Truthfully, finding survivors had not even been considered by Karr.  
"I'm afraid not," Karr replied. Kitt's scanner light dimmed once again, but before I could fade out completely, Karr spoke again.  
"The Foundation would have wanted you to continue." Kitt's scanner light brightened slightly in acknowledgement. "They wouldn't have wanted you to give up."  
"For what reason. I no longer have a purpose," Kitt argued.  
"Well then find a new one," Karr replied. "Right now, we need to find shelter." The sky was decorated in a multitude of colours, but neither AI gave the beauty of the sunset a moment's thought. Karr began to drive away, and after a moment's hesitation, Kitt followed.

 **AN: I'm very sorry that this story has been neglected for such a long time. I will be updating more often from now on.**


	4. Chapter 4

The two AIs travelled through the difficult terrain, the darkness settling like an ominous warning of worse events to come, although what could possibly be worse, neither could even begin to guess. Awakening on a planet that looked so completely apocalyptic with no idea of what had even happened would be a catastrophic turn of evens for anyone, but especially for Kitt. With the primary function of the preservation of human life, Kitt could feel nothing more about the turn of events than that he'd somehow failed. He couldn't help but think that if he'd not been shut down, he could have saved someone… that he could have done something. Karr on the other hand had never felt happier in his existence. As far as he was aware, the Foundation was dead and buried with every remaining legacy of Wilton Knight buried forevermore with the exception of Kitt. He had no fondness towards the other AI and had only forged an alliance out of the necessity projected by his self-preservation programming. If Kitt became in any way a hazard to his continued existence, then Karr believed he would have no qualms about ensuring Kitt's destruction.

The two drove in complete radio silence, before finding a suitable place to spend the hours of darkness in this unfamiliar world. As the two parked inside a semi-intact warehouse, Karr's scanner flickered slightly unsettlingly as it followed its designated path. "Is everything alright Karr?" Kitt asked with a note of concern.  
"Of course it is," Karr snapped in reply, and that was the end of that. The two powered down for the night as the stars sprinkled themselves across the sky like memories of a forgotten past.

* * *

"Are there any indications for which scenario the simulation is following at the present time?" Devon inquired as he returned. He very much wanted there to be early indications that they were on the path to one of the better scenarios. Devon didn't even want to consider what would happen if the worst came to pass.  
"At the moment, based on their actions alone, I would say that there were no indications suggesting anything other than the best-case scenario," a scientist replied. To Devon, this was the best news that he could have possibly received and allowed him to dare to hope that everything would work out perfectly. However, hope can be a dangerous thing.  
"But as for readings from the AIs themselves, while Karr seems to be heading towards a better path, Kitt's readings are unlike any of our original projections," the same scientist continued.  
"What does this mean?" Devon replied as some of his short-lived hopes were crushed in an instant. The scientist paused for a moment. "Well… we ran a couple of scenarios with the new data, and the most probable outcome was the outcome we were trying to avoid… but this is still very early days, and we can't possibly know for certain what we'll know at the end of this experiment. All we can do is let it play out and see where that leads us."  
"I suppose you're right," Devon replied. "I can't say that I thought there was any possibility that Kitt would prove us all wrong."  
"That's what we're here for," the scientist replied. "What happened with Karr should never have happened, and we need to establish once and for all whether or not AI will be a danger to us all."

 **AN: Sorry I haven't updated this particular story in while. Abandoning it for this long wasn't my intention. Honest!  
Anyway, I hope you like the next chapter, and feel free to leave me some constructive criticism. :)**


End file.
